Containers, such as the beverage container described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/893,612, filed Jun. 5, 1992 and herein incorporated by reference, are typically packaged in a 2.times.3 array oriented vertically and parallel in an open topped carton (carton sleeve, sleeve package or other package, hereinafter referred to as carton) and surrounded by some type of shrink wrap. Plastic containers of this type are not of consistent shape and stiffness, and do not always stand up straight or roll straight. These containers also do not maintain orientation in any accumulation (horizontal or vertical), and the top of the container may be bent. During forming and filling, the bottoms may also be uneven due to bulging (one cause of containers which do not stand up straight). The cartoning of containers of this type is also complicated by the fact that an impact on the top may cause leakage at the twist-off closure seal, and scuffing of the soft plastic especially at the top is to be avoided.
In order to load containers of this type into cartons to form 6-packs, timing screws, flexible belts, drop chutes, brush guides, flighted conveyors, and counting mechanisms have failed to provide a consistent cartoning apparatus.